Employment lawyer Nigel MacKay said hard-working drivers made Uber a multibillion-dollar corporation but now it must recognise workers’ rights

“We are pleased that the employment tribunal has agreed with our arguments that drivers are entitled to the most basic workers’ rights, including to be paid the national minimum wage and to receive paid holiday, which were previously denied to them.”

The GMB union hailed the ruling as a “monumental victory” for workers’ rights.

The two men are first of a total of 19 drivers taking Uber to tribunal over working conditions including the deduction of sums from driver’s pay without notice when bookings are cancelled.

The international company had argued drivers are not allowed to make claims under UK employment law and should seek arbitration in Holland, where it has its European headquarters.

Legal experts said the ruling would not only affect minicab drivers but other workers in the “gig economy” such as Deliveroo riders.

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Maria Ludkin, GMB legal director, added: “This is a monumental victory that will have a hugely positive impact on over 30,000 drivers in London and across England and Wales and for thousands more in other industries where bogus self-employment is rife.

“This loophole that has allowed unscrupulous employers to avoid employment rights, sick pay and minimum wage for their staff and costing the government millions in lost tax revenue will now be closed.

“Uber drivers and thousands of others caught in the bogus self-employment trap will now enjoy the same rights as employees.”

Uber, based in San Francisco, says it will appeal against the decision and that in the meantime it applies only to the two people who brought the case.

Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK said: “Tens of thousands of people in London drive with Uber precisely because they want to be self-employed and their own boss.

“The overwhelming majority of drivers who use the Uber app want to keep the freedom and flexibility of being able to drive when and where they want.

“While the decision of this preliminary hearing only affects two people we will be appealing it.”

More Uber drivers and workers for other firms such as Deliveroo could now bring claims following the landmark ruling

Another hearing will decide how much compensation the two drivers will receive.

Michelle Last, an employment lawyer at Keystone Law, said the ruling would have a widespread impact and other companies would face claims.

She said: “The Uber case acts as an important reminder that simply labelling an individual as ‘self-employed’ does not deprive them of basic statutory employment rights.

“To be genuinely self-employed, an individual has to be effectively running a business on their own account.

“Regardless of whether or not an individual can pick and choose when they perform their work, if they are obliged to perform work personally, they will still be deemed to be a worker and not genuinely self-employed.

“Companies such as Uber and Deliveroo are now likely to find themselves as fodder for union claims.”

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